Conservation Act 1987

Miscellaneous

27: Covenants

You could also call this:

"A covenant is a promise to protect land for conservation that stays with the land forever."

You can make a promise, called a covenant, to protect land for conservation. This promise is made to the Minister and it applies to the land, not just the person who owns it. The covenant is considered an interest in land under the Land Transfer Act 2017.

When you make a covenant, the Registrar-General of Land will add a note to the land records. This note says the land is subject to the covenant. The Registrar-General of Land does this for free when the Director-General asks them to.

If the covenant applies to part of a piece of land, the Registrar-General of Land will only add the note if the land is clearly defined on a plan. This plan must be approved under the Land Transfer Act 2017. Alternatively, the document with the covenant must have a certificate from the Surveyor-General or the Chief Surveyor. This certificate confirms the covenant is properly described and defined.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM106603.


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27A: Nga Whenua Rahui kawenata, or

"Agreement to protect special land and its Maori values."

Part 6Miscellaneous

27Covenants

  1. Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law,—

  2. there may be granted or reserved over any land any covenant for conservation purposes in favour of the Minister; and
    1. every such covenant shall run with and bind the land that is subject to the burden of the covenant, and shall be deemed to be an interest in land for the purposes of the Land Transfer Act 2017.
      1. Subject to subsection (3), where a covenant is granted or reserved under this section, the Registrar-General of Land, on the application of the Director-General, shall, without fee, enter in the appropriate registers a notification that the land affected by the covenant is subject to the burden of the covenant.

      2. Where the burden of a covenant under this section applies to land comprising part of the land in a record of title, the Registrar-General of Land shall not enter in any register a notification of the covenant unless—

      3. the land to which the covenant relates is defined on an existing plan approved under the Land Transfer Act 2017 or a new plan approved under that Act; or
        1. the document incorporating the covenant is accompanied by a certificate given by the Surveyor-General, or the Chief Surveyor of the land district in which the land is situated, to the effect that the covenant is adequately described and properly defined—
          1. for the nature of the covenant; and
            1. in relation to existing surveys made in accordance with regulations for the time being in force for the purpose; and
              1. in accordance with standards agreed from time to time by the Director-General and either the Surveyor-General or the Chief Surveyor, as the case may be.
              Notes
              • Section 27: substituted, on , by section 18 of the Conservation Law Reform Act 1990 (1990 No 31).
              • Section 27(1)(b): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
              • Section 27(2): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
              • Section 27(2): amended, on , by section 20(1) of the Conservation Amendment Act 1994 (1994 No 108).
              • Section 27(3): added, on , by section 20(2) of the Conservation Amendment Act 1994 (1994 No 108).
              • Section 27(3): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
              • Section 27(3)(a): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).